{"id":85431,"date":"2025-03-13T09:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T14:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/lsu-enters-spring-camp-with-renewed-depth-competition\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T14:12:15","slug":"lsu-enters-spring-camp-with-renewed-depth-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/lsu-enters-spring-camp-with-renewed-depth-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU enters spring camp with renewed depth, competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

As LSU<\/a><\/strong> football kicked off spring camp over the weekend for the 2025 season, one of the noticeable differences in the program\u2019s roster that the Tigers lacked a year ago: depth. <\/p>\n

Head coach Brian Kelly<\/a><\/strong> and his staff are no longer focused on simply filling gaps. Instead, they\u2019re navigating an offseason defined by competition at several positions, thanks to a stronger, more balanced roster.<\/p>\n

Kelly didn\u2019t hesitate to highlight the difference in his opening statement of Wednesday\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of work to do,\u201d Kelly said after an early spring practice. \u201cThese spring trainings \u2014 this is just the first lineup out there. We\u2019re moving players in and out. It\u2019s going to be a new rotation on Friday, so you\u2019ll get a chance to see a lot of different guys. The exciting part about it is we\u2019ve got a lot of competition, that\u2019s really been probably the one word that we\u2019ve used more than anything else this spring. We\u2019ve got great competition at a lot of different positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

That competition stems from an offseason that saw LSU aggressively bolster its roster through the transfer portal with the addition of 16 transfers<\/a> after beefing up their NIL efforts. Unlike last spring, when certain position groups lacked quality depth, this year\u2019s roster allows for multiple battles across the board and much more flexibility. Last year, LSU had just one top 150 transfer, but this year the Tigers have nine in the top 150 and a couple more on the cusp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel really good about the depth of the team and the roster itself,\u201d Kelly added. \u201cIt\u2019s really showed itself through the first few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also helps that to have the 13 early enrollee freshmen\u00a0on campus partaking in spring ball. RB Harlem Berry<\/a><\/strong>, OL Carius Curne<\/a><\/strong>, CB DJ Pickett<\/a><\/strong> and LB Charles Ross<\/a><\/strong> are just a few of those players likely to see early playing time in Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker<\/a><\/strong> told The Bengal Tiger<\/a><\/strong> in February that the transfer portal not only added talent to his side of the ball but brought in players ready to contribute right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when you look at what we did out of the portal, in all honesty, I think every single one of them is either gonna be a starter or an immediate contributor,\u201d Baker said at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic. \u201cThat\u2019s really what we want \u2014 last year, what we didn\u2019t have was competitive depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a stark contrast from 2024, when LSU leaned heavily on its starters, sometimes out of necessity rather than choice. <\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, some guys played a lot more than they should have,\u201d Baker said, \u201cand you run out of tread on your tires by the end of the season. You\u2019re really not getting better unless somebody\u2019s pushing you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker made it clear that the days of starters playing 70 to 80 snaps a game are over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019ve had to explain to the whole defense this year \u2014 this is different than last year,\u201d Baker said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t want to play 75 snaps a game. I promise you, it\u2019s gonna pay off for you and us at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later this summer the Tigers will also be returning key veteran defensive players Whit Weeks<\/a><\/strong>, Harold Perkins Jr.<\/a><\/strong> and Jacobian Guillory<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 all were injured during the 2024 season. Kelly said Wednesday all three should be fully cleared for June workouts.<\/p>\n

As LSU works through spring camp, the 2025 Tigers have more than just talent \u2014 they have the internal competition needed to push each other every day. And if Kelly and Baker are right about their competitive depth on this roster, plus an experienced quarterback in Garrett Nussemeier<\/a><\/strong>, that could be what separates the 2025 team when the fall rolls around.<\/p>\n

The 16 Transfers: DB Tamarcus Cooley<\/a><\/strong>, DE Patrick Payton<\/a><\/strong>, S\/CB Mansoor Delane<\/a><\/strong>, CB Ja\u2019Keem Jackson<\/a><\/strong>, DE Jimari Butler<\/a><\/strong>, DE Jack Pyburn<\/a><\/strong>, DT Sydir Mitchell<\/a><\/strong>, WR Nic Anderson<\/a><\/strong>, WR Barion Brown<\/a><\/strong>, OL Josh Thompson<\/a><\/strong>, C Braelin Moore<\/a><\/strong>, TE Bauer Sharp<\/a><\/strong>, QB Michael Van Buren<\/a><\/strong>, TE Donovan Green<\/a><\/strong>, WR Destyn Hill<\/a><\/strong> and P Grant Chadwick<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The post LSU enters spring camp with renewed depth, competition<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As LSU football kicked off spring camp over the weekend for the 2025 season, one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85431\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}